Definitely check the foot, the snails look like tiny pieces of rice. I'd make sure the clam is in lower flow, I wouldn't worry to much about light intensity, the clam can handle it.
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Normal Clam Behavior
- Thread starter Cool Cat
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OP
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Cool Cat
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This is about as open as he gets...taken just now...I really appreciate your guys helping me out. No idea if he was wild caught, got him at my LFS that I usually visit and was under some LEDs.
rkpetersen
walked the sand with the crustaceans
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Did you give it a good long acclimation? Did you keep it underwater as you transferred it to your tank? Supposedly, sometimes a clam can trap a bubble of air which irritates it. You could try gently picking it up and briefly turning it over in different positions to see if it will 'burp' some air from either siphon. (Although some would say that the whole 'burping a clam that's been out of water' thing is a myth!)
That is almost certainly a wild Tahitian clam if it is 5 or 6 inches. They usually do not have pyram snails, but check for sure. Make sure that nothing it irritating it since it needs to extend more than this. They need a LOT of light.
These are not easy clams that can sometimes look great for 6-9 months and then waste away in a day or two - they were slowly dying the whole time. As time goes on, only new, fresh shell grow is a sign that it is doing great. Even without new shell growth, they can live for a while, but you are never in the clear unless they are growing new shell.
If you want more info, you can search for "Tahitian Maximas" and probably find one-hundred threads over the years. Dr. Mac is a good resource on these but quit supplying them when they started to ship them out of water and the death toll went up exponentially with the clams not able to fight off the protozoan Perkinsus anymore.
Good luck.
These are not easy clams that can sometimes look great for 6-9 months and then waste away in a day or two - they were slowly dying the whole time. As time goes on, only new, fresh shell grow is a sign that it is doing great. Even without new shell growth, they can live for a while, but you are never in the clear unless they are growing new shell.
If you want more info, you can search for "Tahitian Maximas" and probably find one-hundred threads over the years. Dr. Mac is a good resource on these but quit supplying them when they started to ship them out of water and the death toll went up exponentially with the clams not able to fight off the protozoan Perkinsus anymore.
Good luck.
OP
OP
Cool Cat
Community Member
40 minute acclimation, he wasn’t out of water for more than a second...tried burping yesterday and didn’t see any air bubbles. I can move him to a calmer spot. If it does have snails how do I deal with those? Just scrub them off? How long does it take for them to attach foot?
They should attach in a few days if you put a rock under them. They will not do much on the sand. They can sometimes burrow through the sand and attach to the bottom glass - this can work, but is a real pain if you ever want to move them.
I am not a huge believer in burping, although it probably does not hurt anything. We saw clams in the surge between high and low tide in a few inches of turbulent water and they all were extend and not phased by the crashing waves and bubbles in the water.
Sales of Tahitians went down dramatically a few years ago after all of the losses - they sell them for food, but command a better price for the aquarium trade. Supposedly, the word got back to the collectors as to why they were not selling as many and they might be shipping in water now if they want the higher price for aquarium clams. There is hope. The ones from a decade ago that were shipped in water did VERY well.
Post #24, and beyond is a great summary/background on these.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/la-dd-clams-going-downhill.369539/page-2
I am not a huge believer in burping, although it probably does not hurt anything. We saw clams in the surge between high and low tide in a few inches of turbulent water and they all were extend and not phased by the crashing waves and bubbles in the water.
Sales of Tahitians went down dramatically a few years ago after all of the losses - they sell them for food, but command a better price for the aquarium trade. Supposedly, the word got back to the collectors as to why they were not selling as many and they might be shipping in water now if they want the higher price for aquarium clams. There is hope. The ones from a decade ago that were shipped in water did VERY well.
Post #24, and beyond is a great summary/background on these.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/la-dd-clams-going-downhill.369539/page-2
OP
OP
Cool Cat
Community Member
Well she has decided to open up a bit more today. I know it isn’t fully extended but after a couple weeks f being mostly closed I’ll take it! Been reacting to lights all evening... found out this clam was aquacultured from a farm in Vietnam ...
